Today I want to just offer a little bit of advice in case you're in the earlier stages of learning guitar, and you're confused with what you should be doing, how you should be practicing, or what you should be focusing on.

Focus on Basic Open Position Chords

First, you want to be focusing on your basic open position chords. But you don't need to learn all of them. Start out with just seven chords, and these chords should be E minor, E major, A minor, A major, C, D, and G.

You can play an amazing amount of music with just these seven chords. So really practice them, and try to get really comfortable moving smoothly from chord to chord.

If you're feeling really comfortable with those chords, you can maybe add three more, and the three that I would add would be D minor, B7, and F.

So again, start with E minor, E major, A minor, A major, C, D, and G, get really smooth and comfortable with those, then add in D minor, B7, and F.

(And by the way, please don't think about learning bar (barre) chords before you are comfortable with the chords that I've just mentioned. If you're super comfortable with the chords I've just mentioned, then yes, you can then think about learning bar chords, but not before.)

Develop Your Strumming

The second thing you want to be focusing on is your strumming. You want to develop a simple vocabulary of workable strum patterns, and you want to be simultaneously developing your sense of rhythm.

Try to strum comfortably as you transition from chord to chord. You don't need to be doing anything fancy, but two or three basic strum patterns are great to get you started.

Learn One Scale

The third thing that you should be working on is that you want to know at least one scale. And that scale should be a pentatonic scale.

Don't worry about playing a diatonic scale, maybe you've heard of a major scale, don't worry about that, don't worry about playing modes, don't worry about any of that. Start with a very simple pentatonic scale, and don't underestimate how useful this scale is. It really is probably the single most useful scale you will ever learn.

Things to Avoid

But I also want to talk about two things you should not be doing.

1. Avoid Trying to Play Songs Exactly as Recorded

The single biggest thing you should not be doing is trying to play specific songs. That is, you shouldn't be trying to play specific songs exactly how they were recorded by whoever popularized the song.

So, whatever the song is, there's nothing wrong with looking up the chords on a website like Ultimate Guitar, or something like that, and just kind of strumming through the song at your own pace, using your own simple strum pattern, like one of the ones I mentioned earlier.

What you don't want to do is try to replicate note-for-note what you're hearing on the recording of the song. At the beginning stages, don't be trying to learn things exactly as they were recorded.

As a beginner, you're just not ready for that yet, and you'll just wind up frustrated. If you want to play a song, look up the chords, and try to get comfortable strumming it in a sort of a simplified fashion. That way, you'll be able to learn a lot more songs, and honestly, have a lot more fun playing guitar.

2. Avoid Learning Too Much Music Theory

The second thing to avoid doing is trying to learn a lot of what is called "music theory." While I personally love music theory and I utilize it a lot in my own playing and composing, most people would be surprised to find out how much great music they can play without knowing a lot of theory.

Yes, it’s worth learning, but not when you’re a beginner. You have better things on which to focus on right now, and you don’t want to fall into "information overload."

Bonus: Avoid Unrealistic Expectations

Ok, a bonus thing to avoid: absolutely, positively do not put pressure on yourself to get to a certain level at a certain point in time. Hand in hand with that, you absolutely, positively, should not be comparing yourself to anyone else.

It really doesn't matter that you have a friend who's been playing about the same length of time that you have, and in your opinion, they are more advanced than you are. There are many, many factors that can determine how quickly a student progresses, and in any event, who's to say that anyone else is really that much more advanced a guitarist than you are?

So please, please, do not compare yourself to other people. Do not put pressure on yourself. If you find yourself using the word "should," as in I should be doing this, or by now I should be able to play this, please just stop.

If you are working on a personalized, structured guitar curriculum, and you are practicing consistently, you will make progress. But sometimes it takes more time than we might like, and we have to accept that.

Remember, learning music is supposed to be rewarding in a personal way. It's supposed to be a source of joy in your life. If you turn it into a job, with all these expectations and so forth, honestly, you're not going to improve any faster, and you're just going to make yourself miserable.

So again, please don't put pressure on yourself, please don't have unrealistic expectations, please don't compare yourself to anybody else, and please don't use the word "should" when thinking about your playing.

Final Thoughts

So, there you are: three things to do, and three things not to do when learning to play guitar. I hope you found this helpful!

Damian offers affordable, private online guitar lessons in musical styles ranging from rock to blues to folk to country, featuring a structured yet highly personalized curriculum.